They are men, and in
one year more will be officers of the army. It becomes
them, therefore, to lay aside the ordinary student's
r?le, and assume a more dignified one, one more in
conformity with their age and position. They leave
all cadet r?les, etc., to the younger classes, and
put on the proper dignity of men.
There are for them more privileges. They are more
independent--more like men; and consequently they
find another kind of enjoyment in camp than that
of the cadet. It is a general, a proper, a rational
sort of pleasure such as one would enjoy at home
among relatives or friends, and hence the similarity
between first-class camp and furlough.
But it is not thus with all first-classmen. Many,
indeed the majority, are cadets till they graduate.
They see every thing as a cadet, enjoy every thing
as a cadet, and find the duties, etc., of first-class
camp as irksome as those of plebe or yearling camp.
Of course such men see no similarity between first-
class camp and furlough. It is their misfortune. We
should enjoy as many things as we can, and not sorrow
over them. We should not make our life one of sorrow
when it could as well be one of comfort and pleasure.
I don't mean comfort and pleasure in an epicurean
sense, but in a moral one. Still first-classmen do
have many duties to perform, but there is withal one
consolation at least, there are no upper classmen to
keep the plebe or yearling in his place.
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